Moccasin sewing and trimming machine



March 1953 c. A. NEWHALL MOCCASIN SEWING AND TRIMMING MACHINE Filed Aug. 21, 1951 fizz/cilia r Carl A/Vewlzal/ -tion on the part of the operator.

Patented Mar. 24, 1953 MOCCASIN SEWING AND TRHVIMING MACHINE Carl A. Newhall, Peabody, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 21, 1951, Serial No. 242,809

The present invention relates to improvements in machines for sewing together and trimmin the edges of the top piece or tongue and the side piece or vamp of a moccasin or an imitation moccasin type shoe and is hereinafter described as embodied in a machine similar to that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,366,703, granted January 9, 1945 on application of Fred Ashworth and No. 2,487,928, granted November 15, 1949 upon application of H. J. Koloske.

In the machine of the type disclosed in the Koloske patent pieces of a moccasin type shoe are sewed together and simultaneously trimmed by a knife clamped to one of the parts of a two- 'part work support provided for guiding the moccasin pieces externally during sewing. During operation of the machine of that patent it is necessary occasionally to remove the knife for resharpening. Upon replacement of the knife after resharpening in the prior machine it is necessary to readjust the knife with considerable care and expenditure of time in order that it will trim the parts being sewn with exactly the same margin between the trimmed edges and the seam inserted as before resharpening.

An object of the present invention is to improve the construction of the prior patent in such manner that readjustment of the knife after removal 'for resharpening purposes is largely avoided, the

knife being capable of repeated sharpening and replacement on the machine in exactly the same relationship without loss of time or special atten- A further object is to provide a moccasin seam sewing or trimming machine in which the machine may be utilized for sewing operations only and no trimming, interchangeably with sewing and trimming without-the necessity of readjustment in the knife and its clamping holder in the machine each time it is replaced for use.

"readjustment in the clamp or work support. In this way the sharpening operation is simplified *andincreased production is obtained from the 4 Claims. (Cl. 11262) trating and feeding awl 8'.

: faces of the work support. 1

machine. Furthermore, the block part of th work support may be disassembled from the main part for readjustment or change in sewing requirements without disturbing the operating position of the knife. Thus, the advantages of the constructions in both prior patents are retained without any of the disadvantages.

These and other features of the invention are embodied in the devices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will readily be understood from the following detail description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a work support, presser, needle and awl in a moccasin seam sewing and trimming machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a View in right side elevation of the same portions of the machine including the needle and awl supporting bracket on the frame of the machine, and

Fig. 3 is a separated perspective view on an enlarged scale of the trimming knife and clamp shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is similar to that of the Ashworth and Koloske patents, above referred to, and is adapted to operate on bevel edged moccasin pieces comprising a tongue piece or plug and a vamp or side piece, indicated at 2 and 4, respectively. The sewingoperations insert a seam through registering bevel faces on the moccasin pieces with stitches exposed only at the outer surfaces. The seam is inserted by lockstitch forming devices in the machine, including a curved hook needle 6 and a curved work pene- -The moccasin pieces are pressed and clamped in position during formation of each stitch by an external two-part work support, the parts of which are indicated at It and i2, and an internal presser having a tip it. Both the work support and presser tip" are provided with complementalwork engaging surfaces disposed at an angle to each other and extending in the direction of work feed, the needle moving across the solid angle between the work support surfaces. The part I2 of the work support is the main part and is clamped by a screw it to a portion E9 of the machine frame and the presser is moved toward and from the work engaging surfaces of the work support to press the moccasin pieces between the work engaging sur- The work support part It] is in the form of a. block separately secured to the main part. l2 by the cutting action. readjust the location of the knife on the work support several times before a trimming action is obtained which exactly duplicates that obtained before sharpening. Readjustment of the a clamping device including a screw [8 and a dowel pin 20. The main part has an elongated approximately horizontal surface 22 to one end of which the block part I is secured. Each of the parts I0 and 12 of the work sup-port has one work engaging surface thereon and both parts are spaced from each other by one or more shims 24.

The machine of the Koloske patent is provided with an edge trimming knife secured to the block part of the work support with provision of adjustment toward and from the line of the seam inserted. During use of the Koloske machine with the trimming knife it is necessary occasionally to remove the knife and resharpen it by grinding on an emery wheel or an oil stone to bring its edge into efficient cutting condition. After sharpening the knife it is replaced on the machine as close as possible to its original posi-- tion and a sample piece of work is sewn to test Usually it is necessary to knife in this manner may take an appreciable period of time, particularly with an inexperienced operator and results in wastage of both time and materials during the testing stages of the adjustment.

' To reduce substantially the time required for adjustments after resharpening or replacement of an edge trimming knife on a moccasin seam sewing machine similar to that of the prior patents, the knife in the machine embodying the present invention is releasably secured in a clamp which is entirely separate from the parts of the work support forming the work engaging surfaces and the knife clamp is readily removable from the work support while still securing the knife in rigidly clamped relation. By removing the clamp and knife as a unit from the work support the cutting edge of the knife may be ground or stoned without changing its position in the clamp so that upon replacement of the clamp on the work support the same adjusted position of the knife with relation to the line of the seam inserted by the machine will be retained.

The present knife clamp comprises a pair of superposed blocks 26 and 28 arranged to engage opposite sides of the knife securely between them. For this purpose a shank portion 30 of the trimming knife is constructed with its: shank portion bent at right angles to its cutting edge 32, which edge. crosses the. angle of the work support in a manner similar to that of the Koloske patent. Instead of securing the knife shank directly to the Work support as in the Koloske. patent the present knife shank rests upon the lower clamp block 28 and the lower clamp block has a rib 34 at one end extending transversely of the line of the seam to: guide the knife into proper cutting position. Clamping pressure on the knife shank is exerted through the upper clamp block 26 which has a beveled surface 36 acting on a similar surface on the knife shank to force the knife securely against the rib 34. of the lower block.

- The upper block also has a covering flange 38 above the bevel surface 36 above the shank of the. knife in spaced relation thereto so that any 4 pressure exerted by the upper block will clamp the bevel surface 36. against the knife shank.

To secure the block parts 26 and 28 releasably together against the shank 30 of. the trimming knife so that the knife and clamp may be removed and replaced on the work support as a unit a cap screw 40 passes loosely through the upper block into threaded engagement with the lower block only. To secure the knife and clamp releasably to the work support the left end of the horizontal surface 22 on the main work support part l2 has a threaded opening to receive the threaded end of a separate clamping screw 42 passing loosely through elongated .openings 44 and 46 in both the block 26 and 28. The screw 42 not only holds the clamp to the work support but also assists the cap screw 30 in securing the knife more rigidly in adjusted position in its clamp.

The advantages of utilizing a clamp for the shank of an edge trimming knife in a moccasin seam sewing machine in which the clamp is separable from a Work support on which it is mounted also includes other benefits which contribute to the successful and easy adjustment of the machine in many respects. By mounting the knife clamp on the left end of the horizontal surface 22 and providing the work support block part It separate from the knife clamp, the block part H] may be removed for replacement or addition of shims without changing the operating position or adjustment of the knife in any way. Replacement of shims occasionally is required when the thickness of moccasin pieces 2 and 4 is changed or when the character of the work is to be modified in other respects.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a particular embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

1. In a machine for sewing and trimming moccasin seams, having stitch-forming devices including a hook needle, an external work support having work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed and. disposed with relation to each other to form an angle across which the needle moves, an internal presser having a tip formed with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces arranged to press the moccasin pieces operated upon between the work-engaging surfaces of the work support, and an edge trimming knife having its cutting edge crossing the angle of the work support and a shank for securing the knife in place, in combination with a clamp for the shank of the knife having a. block and a screw threaded into the block for securing the knife releasably to the block, and means separable from those portions of the Work support forming the work-engaging surfaces for securin the knife and clamp as a unit releasably to the work support.

2. In a machine for sewing and trimming moccasin seams. having stitch-forming devices including a hook needle, an external work support having work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work. feed and disposed with relation to each other to form an angle across which the needle moves. an internal presser having a tip formed with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces arranged to press the moccasin pieces operated upon. between the work-engaging surfaces of the work support, and an edge trimming knife having its cutting edge crossing the angle of the work support and a shank bent at right angles to the cutting edge thereon,v in. combination with a clamp comprising a pair of blocks acting on the knife shank and having a screw passing through one block into threaded engagement with the other for securing the blocksreleasably in engagement with the knife shank together and. a separate screw passing loosely through both clamp blocks into threaded engagement with the Work support for releasably securing the knife clamp to the work support.

3. In a machine for sewing and trimming moccasin seams, having a frame, stitch-forming devices including a hook needle, an external work support having work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed and disposed with relation to each other to form an angle across which the needle moves, an internal presser having a tip formed with angularly d-isposed work-engaging surfaces arranged to press the moccasin pieces operated upon between the work-engaging surfaces of the work support, and an edge trimming knife having its cutting edge crossing the angle of the work support and a shank bent at right angles to the cutting edge thereon, in combination with a clamp comprising a pair of blocks acting on the knife shank and having a screw passing through one block into threaded engagement with the other for securing the blocks releasably in engagement with th knife shank together and a separate screw passing loosely through both clamp blocks into threaded engagement with the work support for releasably securing the knife clamp to the Work support, said work support being constructed in two parts, the main part of which is clamped to the machine frame and a block part of which is secured to the main part by a clamping device separate from the screw which secures the knife clamp to the work support.

4. In a machine for sewing and trimming moccasin seams having a frame, stitch forming devices including a hook needle in the frame, an external two-part work support having a Work engaging surface on each part extending in the direction of work feed and disposed with relation to each other to form an angle across which the needle moves, the main part of which work support is clamped to the machine frame and the other part of which is in the form of a block separable from the main part, an internal presser having a tip formed with angularly disposed work engaging surfaces to press the moccasin pieces operated upon between the work engaging surfaces of the work support and an edge trimming knife having its main cutting edge crossing the angle of the work support parts and a shank bent at right angles to the main cutting edge, in combination with a pair of clamp blocks engaging the shank of the knife, a screw acting on the clamp blocks only for securing the knife releasably to the clamp, and a separate screw passing loosely through both of the clamp blocks for securing the clamp releasably to the main part of the work support.

CARL A. NEWI-IALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,284,514 Cordeau May 26, 1942 2,487,928 Koloske Nov. 15, 1949 

